Dewdrops and Waterfalls
by mariakaicho
Summary: Well, this is awkward. Everyone in Sharance seems to think that their sacred Tree gave birth to me. Something's wrong, though. I know I'm not some weird Tree's daughter- I am from something far greater... and far more dangerous. Now if only I had my memories back... Self-Insert!
1. Chapter 1

'_You're really funny, Maria.'_

'_W-wait! No! Wrong way! Maria-!'_

'_Phew… I got to you on time… Stop scaring me like that.'_

'_I'm lucky to have you as my little sister.'_

'_Anyone bother you today? Good, they remember last time.'_

'_You became a guard…? …Let's celebrate, then!'_

'…_Maria…?'_

.

.

.

I could feel myself flying through the air, falling lower and lower until I felt the unforgiving impact of my body hitting the earth. I could feel my body start to bruise, but not a single bone broke. Slowly, my eyes opened, immediately closing as I felt rain hit my face. I took a deep breath, squinting against the blurred landscape. I could not spot anything familiar, nothing that rung a bell or gave me a sense of recognition. This was not home. _This was not __**home**_.

Panicking, I begin to look around. There were houses everywhere, and the nearest exit I saw was one headed towards a giant tree. The houses looked inviting with the warm lights emanating, but something… The tree…? It was… calling … The tree was calling me… telling me that it would be a safe place to take refuge in…?

I was scared, but I knew _somehow_ the tree would keep me safe- _safesafesafe_.

As I burst through the door and into the tree, I felt a wave of dizziness overwhelm me. I stumbled, landing harshly on the ground even as a bright light filled my vision.

Now was not the time to be blacking out, but…

.

.

.

"Hey…"

It was too warm to be getting up.

"…you okay…?"

Actually… I did feel a little restricted… and I felt a little damp all over…

"…get some help…"

Help…?

"…tree… never acted… before…"

What were they saying? Were they talking about me?

"Can't… chop her out! …Sacred…. Sharance…"

Chop me out of where!? What the heck!?

"…grew out of the tree?"

_What the heck was going on?_ I forced my eyes open, trying to see through blurry figures standing around me. Leaves covered most of my face, and what seemed like roots or branches were growing around me, forming some sort of shield.

"You're awake!" The voice, a female, was excited, kneeling next to where my head was slightly visible. "Are you alright? What happened here?" As she questioned me, I could hear a child's voice tell the girl to ask me if I grew out of the tree.

"I…" I felt the roots loosen its hold around me, shifting to help me sit up. "…I don't know…" My head was fuzzy, my mouth was dry, and my vision was blurry. What the hell was going on?

"_Her ears are round… That rules out being a monster…_" The old man hunched over at the door was mumbling to himself, and it was not that strange to me that I could hear him. "_Perhaps… a child of the Sharance tree…?_"

"You don't remember anything? What about your name?" My attention focused back on the ginger-haired girl in front of me, her blue eyes filled with worry.

"I… My name…?" My head started to feel like someone was hitting it with a rock, and flashes of blurred faces rushed past. "My name… I… my… I am Maria…" I grasped at my head, leaning forward onto my knees.

"Oh my…!" I felt gentle hands on my back, calling for a person named Monica to bring a drink and some medicine. "Keep your head between your knees. I need you to breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose. There… like that…" Her instructions felt familiar, so I followed them without question. My headache slowly eased until only a dull throbbing remained, and finally I whispered a mumbled 'thanks'.

"How did you get here?" It was the old man, hunched over and leaning on his staff. I blinked, closing my eyes and leaning back onto the roots. "You are… human… aren't you?" His voice was full of suspicion it hurt. I could hear the girl admonishing him, but my mind was focused on trying to regain some sort of memory as to why I was here.

"I… believe I am human…" I looked at my hands, at my oval nails, and felt my ears. Humans had round ears did they not? "I just… I can't remember anything right now…" I clenched my fish hands into fists.

"Grandfather…" She was looking at the man with pleading eyes, and he was staring at me with a speculative look.

"It looked as if you grew out of the tree, missy," He said, slowly walking forward. "The tree even responded to you. I can't help but to think that you are the personification of our Sacred Sharance Tree, and that we must guide you in this life of yours." He had this strange glint in his eyes, something that spoke of wonder, mystery, and suspicion.

"I do not know what to believe…" I said, allowing the tree to help me stand. I looked at my clothes, all brown and greens and doing nothing to help against the man's claim that I was this Sharance tree of theirs personified. Something in me felt indignation about being called the child of a tree. I was respected because… Because…?

"You can believe that we will protect you," The girl interrupted, cutting off whatever her grandfather was about to say and my train of thought. "Grandfather, since it appears the Sharance tree will protect her the most, maybe it is best if she lives in it…?" This girl… she knew her way with words, despite her flowery appearance. "I'll show her around, and you go see if Monica is alright with everything, okay?"

She grabbed my hand after assuring that I was alright, and then led me down a ladder at one side of the tree. "My name is Shara. I hope we can be friends." She then continued to talk about the importance of the Sharance tree, of my tree, and how Sacred it was. She then moved onto farming, showing me the two huge plots of land filled with herbs and branches and weeds. "You see, the only place that grows crops would be under the Sharance tree, your tree. We'll send a bed over for you later, and I'll help you find a refrigerator for food…" She continued to talk, looking through a storage shed overgrown with weeds and not even rotting and finding a rusty old hoe. "Aha! Here, you can use this to till the land, and I'll give you a watering pail…" She trailed off, looking to the distance.

"Huh…?" Her blue eyes were wide, and her body was shaking as she pointed behind me and screamed. I turned, and just in time as a blade went straight to my chest.

I reacted on instinct. I lifted the hoe in my hands up, using the brittle wood to deflect the attack. I prayed to whoever was watching, the Sharance tree mostly, that the hoe would not break. In one sure movement, I found an opening in the thing's stance and stuck the rusted metal end of the hoe at its body. The handle broke in my hands as the monster fell to the ground. It disappeared in a flash of light, dropping several things onto the ground.

"Ma-Maria…?" I turned around, shakily smiling at the girl who had helped me so far. "Are you okay? Your hands…" My hands? I looked down at them. Oh…

"I'm alright. Its just… splinters." I winced at the blood as I pulled pieces of wood out. The old and now broken hoe lay forgotten as Shara helped me. I turn my head away as she pulled a particularly large piece out.

I looked at the landscape, finding two springs and two exits/entrances from the land. Actually… What were those… "Shara! Move!" I pushed her towards the ladder, looking for something to use as a weapon as two more of the thing from earlier appeared. They looked angry, and if their snarls were anything to go by, it was because of what happened to their friend earlier. Crud.

I grabbed a large stick off the ground, swinging it up and blocking a wild swing from one of them. The other sneaked behind me, presumably to get to Shara, but I spun and kicked it out of the way. The kicks and several hits from the branch didn't hurt the things, the monsters, at all. In fact, all it seemed to do was make them even angrier.

"Maria!" Shara screamed. I stumbled, my knees buckling from the blow to my ribs. I could see two blurry shapes running towards us from the entrance as I rolled away, clutching my chest and still gripping my stick.

"Damn it!" I growled, running further away from Shara to distract them. They followed, and in the corner of my eye I could see a red-haired girl and dark-haired guy looking at the scene with shock.

"Here!" The guy shouted, distracting the monsters as he threw something in the air. It was a long sword, and before I could attempt to catch it, one of the monsters saw fit to grab it. Double damn. "Shit!"

"Over here!" I yelled, dashing to the side as he quickly responded with a smaller package. I ripped the cloth hiding it, revealing dual blades with a simple but effective design. This… This was sparking something familiar in me. _Good_.

With a yell, I ran forward, slicing at one monster and parrying its attacks. The second came at me with the long sword, but it was easy to dodge because of the monster's clumsy handling. I took a risk, dashing forward and kicking at one's head before rebounding and hitting the other in the chest with one of the blades.

My move worked, and soon, both disappeared in a flash of blue light. I stood there panting, trying to loosen my grip on the blades but only succeeding in stopping my shaking. I collapsed onto my knees, still breathing hard. That was… It was… familiar… terrifying… What the hell happened…

"Hey…" I found myself looking up, staring into a dark silver eye. "Are you okay…?" I looked back down at my tightly clenched hands, willing them to let go of the blades.

"I'm… okay…" I lifted the blades up, reluctantly pushing them towards him. "T-thank you…"

"You should keep them. You look like a capable fighter, and you use them rather well." I blinked at his compliment. Actually… looking closer at him… "Here." I stared at his hand, grabbing it as he helped me up.

"…Thanks…" I looked at my hand, small pieces of wood still stuck inside. "…"

"Maria!" I turned back to Shara, blinking at her inspection of me. "Oh- you still have so many splinters…! Grr…." She started furiously picking at them, sliding the slivers of wood out of my hand so fast I didn't even feel it.

"I…" The guy looked slightly scared. "I still have work to do, so, uh…" He waved, giving me a small smile as the red-haired girl trailed after him.

"…_cute_…" I blinked after the guy, ignoring Shara's attempts to heal my hands.

"…and there!" I looked back at Shara, finding my hands cleanly bandaged. Since when…? "Chew on these." She handed me a mix of leaves and white flower petals, and obediently, I placed them in my mouth. "It helps numb the pain and gives you nutrients. You don't have to swallow it, you can just spit it out when all the flavor is gone and it turns to mush."

"Thank you…" I nervously looked around, somehow finding myself moving after Shara. "Huh? Wait- Where are we going?"

"We're going to introduce you to the town." Her tone of voice made no room for objections, and like the pet I had become to her, I was dragged towards a fate as inescapable as death.

"…Shara…?" I asked, out of breath and extremely tired. I'd met all but two of the villagers, and Shara, being the stubborn person that she was, refused to let me go to my tree home until I met the two. "Where will I find Raven and Gaius?"

"You met them earlier; they helped during the monster attack." She glanced back at me, pulling me to a halt beside a building with a sign that had crossed swords out in front. "You go and introduce yourself, and then meet me back at my store." Oh, her store… I was kind of afraid of going there seeing that Monica, Shara's little sister, bit me.

"…Fine." I sighed, giving her a small nod as I meekly made my way into the shop. "Hello…?"

"Welcome." I turned to the side, blinking as I met familiar silver eyes. "Oh, the girl from earlier."

"Hello," I said, some instinct in me sketching a quick bow. His eyes widened in confusion before smiling welcomingly, gesturing me closer.

"What brings you to my humble abode?" He asked, all easy-going smiles and care-free attitude.

"Shara has me… introducing myself to everyone…" I said, shuffling my feet. "And thank you for… earlier…" I was having troubles speaking for some inane reason, and I was glad for my tan if only because it hid the heat flushing to my face.

"Haha, no problem at all!" He smiled happily, looking behind me and at someone. It was the red-haired girl from earlier, her name being Raven if memory served me right. "Raven, come here and introduce yourself!"

The girl halted, then slowly walked forward. There was something… familiar about her. "Name's Raven…" She mumbled, her body turned away from me.

"And I'm Gaius. We run the Weapons Shop. If you ever need any weapons, don't be afraid to check our stock. Also, if you ever need any farm tools, we sell those, too." His smile was infectious, but my awkwardness prevented me from giving an answering smile back. He looked between Raven and I, an eyebrow raised in thought. "You two could be related, with your same indifferent expressions." Raven's face heated and she turned from him in embarrassment. I kept my neutral façade, instead bowing my head in acknowledgement.

"I should be going… Shara is expecting me…" I backed out of the shop, turning and practically high-tailing it outta' there.

Yeah… if only I was as brave like when I fought those monsters…

.

"Great job, Maria!" Shara smiled happily at my blank face, finding my indifferent attitude somehow adorable. "Here, this is the award you receive whenever you complete a request." She handed me some flower packets along with a watering pail. "Sorry, but that watering can was the only one I could find. I hope you find it of good use." Oh I bet I would.

"Is there anything you need help with…?" I avoided looking at her face, finding talking with people uncomfortable. Gosh… if only I could just go home and sleep already…

"Actually… if you finish planting those flowers… I… would really like one!" She smiled, clapping her hands together. Relieved to not be running around anymore, I promised her a Toyflower and made my way back to my tree home.

All was not to be, actually. I was stopped by what looked like a squirrel-like monster loitering around the entrance. Its foot was bleeding, and it was whimpering pitifully.

"It's okay…" I whispered, kneeling down and inching my way forward. It hissed at me before whimpering as its foot brushed against the ground. Remembering the herbs I picked earlier thanks to Shino's advice (Shino being the woman who runs an inn with her daughter and adopted daughter) I took some out and began chewing it between my teeth. The little monster seemed to have recognized the herbs, because it stopped hissing at me and was now making its way towards me. I took the mush out of my mouth, slathering it over the bleeding wound and scooping up the animal into my arms.

"Maria…?" I turned to the side, spotting Raven from earlier coming back from the paths to the left. I ran up my stairs, shouting a hasty good night and slamming my door closed. I checked the injured monster in my arms before deciding its wound needed to be cleaned.

It was going to be a long night.

"Are you okay now?"

"_Chirrup!_"

"Your legs doesn't bother you anymore, right?"

A swift nod of the head.

"And you won't fall down from my shoulder?"

A soft head nuzzling into my neck.

"Haha, okay! I promise to stop being so worried!" I patted the small animal's head before making my way to the forest on the edge of town. An elf named Daria lived near there, and she was an… enthusiastic person…

It was early morning, and after watering my flowers real fast I had taken the cute little monster (its type I learned as a Chipsqueek) to where it nudged me to go. We were looking for its family members at a forest nearby, I think it was called Privera Forest or something.

Anyways, the Chipsqueek was urging me with happy yips and squeaks to certain directions, me having to dodge monsters and grabbing some food along the way. I bite into an apple as I dodge a sword, feeling the Chipsqueek hidden in my shirt grip onto my skin with sharp claws.

"!" I hear a startled gasp, and then there are no swords swinging at me and there is a flash of light. "You are-!"

"What did you do?" I gasp, looking at dropped items and feeling the Chipsqueek's claws dig sharper into my skin. I feel light-headed and scared, and the one silver eye staring worriedly at me makes me feel no less scared.

"You were going to be hurt." He says, face turning stern and full of concern. "You should not be out here alone."

I stare at him, my feelings of nervousness vanishing and being replaced by indignation. "Y-You just don't assume things like that! I was doing just fine!" I exclaim, my face feeling hot.

"What are you doing out here?" Gaius asks, not at all raising his voice and remaining calm. "You are far out in Privera Forest."

"I-I'm looking for something. You don't have to know…" I lose whatever courage I have and gain a feeling of bitterness. I do not like this person anymore. I do not…

"In which direction were you heading?" He asks, already going to where I was headed without waiting for a response. The Chipsqueek in my shirt has loosened its hold and is now nudging me left, in which I respond. Gaius follows after me, keeping monsters away with his hammer and me dodging them, sometimes back Gaius up when several attack us at once.

"There!" I exclaim, picking my shirt up and letting the Chipsqueek fall into my arms. It is yipping excitedly and Gaius has a flustered expression on his red red face, mouth gaping and hammer loose in his grip.

A family of Chipsqueek come bounding towards me, the one in my arms alternating between yips and barks. It jumps down, looking to me and then to its family. It gives one final bark to them and they scamper off, leaving me with Gaius and the Chipsqueek.

"What is it?" I ask, bending down to reach eye level. It yips, jumping onto my shoulder and nuzzling me. "…?"

"It wants to stay with you." I jump, momentarily forgetting the presence of the dwarf.

"He does…?" I ask, wonder in my voice and looking to the Chipsqueek settled on my shoulder, tail curled around my neck. "Oh…"

"You were here for him, huh?" Gaius asks, a soft smile on his face. "Sorry for getting kinda mad earlier, but you really shouldn't be here alone."

"I was with him." I reply, waving away his apology. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you- you were just concerned…" I do not like this person. _I do not-_

"You're a really kind person. Most people would turn away from monsters, big or small." Gaius looks to the distance, focused on a distant memory.

"Everyone is the same, aren't they?" I say, smiling at the feeling of soft fur against my cheek. "Monster and Human, dwarf, elf, whoever they are, whatever they are, they have feelings and families. They live and die, they bleed when cut…" I sigh. "S-sorry… I'm rambling… Everyone knows this already…"

"No… actually, you're one of the first people…" He is looking at me differently, a curious look to his face.

We reach the entrance, and I race away after grabbing some apples off a tree. I bite one apple, bidding Gaius goodbye and running home. It has been a long day, and it would be wonderful to get some sleep. I water my plants, lingering outside as I look up past the leaves of the Sharance tree, to the stars shining bright in the sky.

A distant memory of a song comes to mind…

'_Away, away in the briny sea_

_Take me where I yearn to be_

_Where love nor care will bother me….'_

"Let's go to sleep, Toffee." The Chipsqueek yipped in agreement.

_._

"_Away, away in the briny sea…"_

...

.

.

.

**AN:** _This is one of the few stories I have actually decided to put up. 'm not saying am busy and all... more like I fail at being motivated. So I wanted to experiment with this! I hope you liked it!_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **_Hey all! I hope you enjoy this next chapter~! This one goes out to PrincepsRegina and random idiot person. They are the two people who should be thanked for this! Enjoy! Also, in accordance to one reviewer, I wanted Gaius to be incorporated as another main character, meaning he will be around Maria. A lot. So this chapter will be a way to… do something? I'unno. I just like Gaius._

.

.

The next day dawned bright and early. I was awakened by Toffee pulling on my hair and pointing outside. He wanted to go and explore his new home.

"Okay, okay… just let me get us some breakfast…" I look to my rucksack next to my bed, recalling the apples I gathered from yesterday along with some seemingly edible mushrooms. I take the apples, going to the kitchen counter and chopping them up into small pieces with my dual blades.

"Why do you use those weapons to cut your food? It is unhealthy! Use your claws!"

I jump up, my blades held tight in my hands as my eyes darted around the room, looking for intruders. Who would come into my home? What the hell would someone be doing in here without making their presence known!?

"Why are you jumping around? I need sustenance!"

Slowly, I turned around, my eyes going to the Chipsqueek settled on the counter, looking up at me with large, watery eyes.

"Are you denying me my sustenance…?" Somehow, its squeaks did not sound like squeaks at all… I could understand him.

"N-no! I was just- I was just feeling weird is all. Here, let me get you another apple!" I hurriedly grabbed the red fruit, giving it to the happy little Chipsqueek as I started to eat my own. I glanced at it nervously. _Maybe I'm just hearing things…?_

"Are you okay, Maria?" The Chipsqueek asked, turning to face me with worried eyes. "You are not gaining much sustenance."

"Oh, well, I was just thinking of what your favorite food will be?"

"That's easy. Toffee." I blinked in surprise. Memories of the taste and smell of toffee assaulted my mind. I could feel large feminine hands placing a toffee in my small chubby palms; hear a woman's aged voice laughing in happiness.

"I…" I swallowed as I tried to reign in some bittersweet feeling that emerged as I remembered the voice. "Your name and favorite food match."

"It matches me because it is so!" Toffee exclaimed, bouncing up and knocking his apple onto its side. I watched as he slowly devoured it to its core, sighing in bliss. "Your name seems to match you, too. What is the meaning of your name?"

"Meaning…?" I frown, feeling my brows furrow in thought. "I… do not know. Names have meanings to them…?"

"Of course!" Toffee exclaims, abandoning the oxidizing apple core and hopping to my shoulder. "All names have meaning to them. I chose mine because of the sweetness it brings to pallet when eaten and mentioned." He puffed his chest, pronouncing the scarlet tuft of fur. "Also, well, that was the first word I translated in the human language. My mother's name was Shiver."

"Well, I do not know the meaning of my name, and if anything I might have just forgotten it." Mother? I have a mother too, somewhere. My memories were not coming back as fast as I would have like it to. "What do you think of my name matching me?"

"It brings memories. I don't know what kind, but I just remember everything when I see you." Toffee gives me a Chipsqueek kind of smile, looking at me from his precarious position on my head. "I may only be a kid, but then… I hope to help you with whatever you need help with! You can count on me!"

"Okay, okay," I reply, shifting him back to my shoulder. "Let's start with watering some plants, first."

.

Toffee proved to be a big help with farming. While I gathered herbs and weeded the fields, he would run around finding seeds- Pink Turnips and Toyuherbs. After I tilled the land, Toffee would sow the seeds found and I would then water them. It was an effective method discovered with few mishaps, but we both had fun.

"It looks like its noon already…" I squint up at the sky, watching the clouds lazily make its way across the sky. I can imagine myself looking down on towns and villages constructed out of trees and into the land.

"I…" Toffee sounds scared. "I think something's going on…" He scurries up onto my head, his ears twitching every few seconds. "We should check it out!"

"Hide in my jacket," I tell him, already making my way to the village. I can see Shino and Wells talking with Hazel, the owner of the general store. Karina, Hazel's daughter, Shara, and Raven are huddled together, Karina looking the same as yesterday with her bored face and Shara looking disgruntled. Raven, though, looks horribly passive, glancing in the direction of the forest every now and then.

"Maria!" Shara exclaims, making her way over to me. "No matter what Grandfather says, don't-!"

"Shara!" Wells exclaims, frowning at me. I scratch the back of my neck worriedly. "Maria, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you."

"Uhh, what can I do to help?" I ask, immediately regretting it with the way he frowned. "This is a… request… right?"

"Yes, yes," He says, giving Shara a stern look as he moves towards me. "There have been several incidents, lately. A monster, specifically a Raccoon, has been vandalizing the Inn and the General store. We believe it lies somewhere in the forest."

"And…?" I'm getting a bad feeling here.

"We would like for you to investigate," Wells says, "and, if possible, to remove it from the forest. We do not wish for the town to keep being hassled."

"I…" If I said yes, then I would be getting into trouble. Heaps of it. There was this feeling, though, urging me to say Yes, to accept this mission. So I did. "I'll do what I can."

From the corner of my eye, I see Raven walking away, her head bowed.

.

I follow after Shino to proceed with her request I'd accepted. She wanted me to fight off some Big Mushrooms as a test of fighting ability.

"You'll see that they sometimes drop things. These Big Mushrooms will drop some powder that I would like for you to collect. Bring me three of these." She smiles, showing me an example of the tan powder.

"I'll do my best," I say, nodding in firm resolution.

"And if you find any other monster dropping- oof!" Sakuya, Shino's daughter, rubbed her head where a sandal had mysteriously fallen on.

"Like I was saying…" Shino smiles. "Take care of yourself, okay? If you find the task too hard, do not hesitate to come back. I do not want you injuring yourself."

"What kind of a person would I be to let down a request?" I reply, grinning. Shino gives a nod in acceptance, walking back to her post at the reception desk. A sandal was missing on her feet, and the weird thing was- I hadn't seen her throw the sandal at Sakuya.

.

"Oh, my wonderful assistant!" I flinch, turning slowly around with a forced smile on my face.

"D-Daria! How are you?" I stand straight, mentally sighing as the elf jogs towards me.

"Rainbow!" She exclaims, flashing her mallet at me, paint dripping off of it. "You're heading into the forest?"

"Uhh… Yes, I am. I was planning on exploring the forest to find a Raccoon." I scratch my head, wondering why her eyes had gone shiny.

"You'll see my art, then! Oh, how wonderful!" She hugged herself, a bright smile planted on her pretty little face. "Oh, I was wondering, if you run across any colored grass, please save them for me! I use them to make paint!"

"O-okay. No problem at all." I watch her run off towards her latest project, some weird rainbow colored statue.

"…What a weird human…" Toffee sniffed the air. "Oh, excuse me… What a weird elf."

"I agree. The others were so much…" My eyes widened, my heart thumping painfully as the memory in my head drifted.

"…Maria…?" I was so close… if only I had… I dunno, but I wanted to grasp at that fleeting memory. Had I met other elves, too?

"I-Its nothing, Toffee. Let's start exploring." As I headed into the forest, a large purple colored gem sitting by the entrance caught my eye. "Huh? What is this?" An eerie light was glowing inside it, seeming to attract the visitors of the forest.

I felt something warm against my chest. I pulled at the cord around my neck, vaguely remembering that I had worn this as long as I could remember- which wasn't much. "This is… a rune…?" It flashed in resonance with the gem, blinding me for a second before it died down. "What was that?"

"I think I've seen this before. This transports you from wherever you are in the forest to the nearest port. This gem would be the port." I blink, absent-mindedly petting Toffee's head.

"You're so helpful, Toffee," I say, smiling as he preened under the praise. I couldn't tell him that I still didn't know how to work the Rune, though. "…What's this…?" The other rune rang familiar. It begged to be used, although how to use it remained a mystery.

"Let's go, Maria! We're wasting time!" I jerked upwards at Toffee's insistence, looking to the sky and noticing that an hour had passed.

"Yeah… let's go."

.

After two hours of exploring the jungle, I came to a stop at two statues. I had destroyed the Monster portals, shoving several Elephants and Flower Lions through. I had to beat an Onion Ghost, though, and that was an experience I had no wish to repeat. There was a bookshelf located in my house filled halfway with books. I found a monster guide, classifying several monsters but not all. More than half the book pages were blank, so I was thinking about filling the rest of the pages up.

Including the other monsters I had to fight were the Big Mushrooms. I'd gathered four bags of the tan powder Shino requested. When I was fighting a Buffamoo, though, some of the powder spilled out and onto the beast, stopping it in its mad charge and restricting its movements. Afterwards, I carefully kept the other bags deep in my pockets and tied tight with a cord.

We soon came upon a clearing containing two monster portals and several Buffamoos and Elephants. The Flower Lions were avoiding me, one or two shooting those dangerous seeds out of their mouths that were easily batted away.

In the upper middle of the clearing, one on each side of a sealed hole in the ground, were giant, abstract structures.

"What is this monstrosity!?" Toffee shrieked, cowering in my hair. He shivered, claws gripping at the thin cloth of my shirt as his head hid in my hair. I sighed.

"I think this is the art that Daria was talking about. It doesn't look that bad, actually." I lift an arm to cradle my chin, adopting a standard thinking pose. "I think…" I grin as I spot a plaque under the statues.

Huffing in exertion and grinning in pleasure, I move the statues, twisting them so that they faced each other. With a loud rumble, hidden stairs were revealed and my effort was rewarded. "Yes!"

"Maria?"

"HIIIE!" I shriek, tumbling forward into the opening. I brace myself, having grabbed Toffee into my arms to protect him when I feel strong arms grab hold of my waist. I am pulled backwards, falling back unto the person who saved me. Now that I think about it, that voice sounded like-

"Gaius!" I exclaim, rolling off of him. He laughs weakly in greeting, slowly sitting up.

"Maria. Glad to know I made it in time." He scratches his cheek, a light flush to his face. "You're really soft, you know?"

I blink. Aren't all people soft? Wait- when I landed on him, Gaius wasn't all that soft at all. "And you're kind of hard." I frown. "I bet it's because you have all those muscles."

"You need to build muscles," he retorts, a smile on his face. "Since you're a farmer, you'll need to build muscles to work."

"Ew," I say, flapping a hand at him. Maybe I'm feeling giddy from that near fall I took, but it feels easier talking to Gaius right now.

"What were you doing, anyway?" He asks, eyeing the opening in the ground. "You're pretty far into the forest."

"Well, I was mostly exploring. Wells and Shino asked me to do some favors, and I was collecting some colored grass for Daria…" I stand up, hesitantly extending a hand to Gaius. He accepts it, and I feel some sort of relief in my chest. _I do not like… I kind of like this man._

"_Dammit_," I mutter, scuffing my foot against the ground.

"Huh?"

"I was wondering why you were this far in. You already know why I'm here." I give him an innocent smile, tilting my head to the left.

"I go mining a bit around here. You can find bronze, iron, silver, amethyst, and gold in those large rocks. Bronze, iron, and scrap metal are in abundance everywhere, though." He smiled, pointing to the sky. "It's getting late, so maybe we should head back?"

I finally notice the shadows growing longer and the darker tint to the sky. "Yeah, I suppose we should head back…"

Toffee yawns, showcasing small, sharp teeth. "_I'm tired, Maria_."

"We're going home," I reply, smiling as he nuzzles into my neck. "Thank you, Gaius," I say, smiling softly at the man.

"I'll walk with you out."

.

"Gaius!" We spot Raven standing at the entrance, a worried frown on her face. "…!" Her eyes widen at the sight of me, and I remember that Toffee is on my head. Her eyes avoid my face, locked on Toffee with some sort of wonderment in her eyes.

"I guess I'll be seeing you." I smile shyly, waving good-bye to Gaius and giving a short parting to Raven. She is staring at Gaius, though, ignoring me as I make my way past her.

I can't help but to feel a little hurt.

.

.

I woke up early the next day. It felt to be around six in the morning. My body felt tired and my head groggy, but I was already up and getting bread out of my refrigerator. After I returned home from my adventure in the forest, Shara came bursting in with Blaise towing a refrigerator.

I was surprised and flustered, and Shara seemed to take joy in my actions before she stuffed my refrigerator with herbs. I seemed to be another little sister to her, actually.

It felt kind of refreshing but disturbing.

So, after chopping up some apples and placing them to the side of the bread, I woke Toffee up to eat. "I'll be watering the plants, so come down when you're done, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you for preparing sustenance for me!" I smiled wryly at his use of vocabulary. Or maybe it just translated differently in my head…?

"No problem as always."

After a little incident with nearly falling into my watering pond, I completed watering my seeds, happy to see a few already sprouting. According to Shara, crops only grew underneath the tree… There were some plots at Privera, though. And maybe, since those Medicinal herbs and colored grasses grew there…

"Are we going back to the forest today?" Toffee asked, yawning from his perch on my shoulder.

"Of course. I think we'll have to go early today, though. I don't want to run into…" I trail off, sighing as I remember Shino's request. "Hide in my hood. We're making a stop to the inn for now."

In five minutes I reach the inn, finding Shino outside sweeping the entrance. "Good morning!" She calls, smiling softly. "Have you finished the request?"

"Yes," I reply shyly, handing her the small bags containing the powder. "You said three, right?"

"I did." She tucks the bags into her sleeves, withdrawing another bag jingling with coins. "These are for you." I blink, accepting the bag with wide eyes. "It is not much, only five hundred gold, but it should help to get you started."

"Th-thank you…" I stammer, feeling my face flush from her amused smile. "I-I've still got that thing I have to do for Wells… So, uhh, have a good day!"

I rush away, hearing her soft chuckles and the sound of a broom brushing against the wooden floor. I go back through the path to my home, finding it closer than the one in front of Blaise's café.

It takes less than ten minutes from the front of my home in the Sharance tree to Privera forest. I easily make my way through the forest, stopping at the entrance gem and feeling the rune hanging around my neck grow warm. I had memorized the path I made to the clearing that housed Daria's statues, easily going past the obstacles that troubled me at first. The opening was still there, but new monster portals appeared along with several monsters.

I dodge my way around a few Buffamoo, watching them feeding their young and grazing the patches of grass scattered around. Chipsqueek scurried by, purposely dodging me because of the hisses of the one on my head. I was curious about humans and monsters living side by side and providing for each other.

I was also curious about raising other monsters, like how I was taking care of Toffee. It was an interesting thought to bring up with someone- most likely Gaius.

"Uh-oh…" I stared at the broken bridge in front of me, debating in my mind to attempt a jump or to try to swim. I stay standing for ten minutes, sitting on the ground and trying to see into the dark water for anything dangerous.

"Helllooooo~!" I look behind me to see the brightly energetic face of Daria. She is grinning with a mad glint in her eyes, holding her mallet up in a threatening manner. "I see you managed to open this up! Thanks! I was waiting for someone smart enough to figure out that riddle! The last statues were horrible to look at so I spruced it up with my art!"

"Uhh…" She heads past me, lifting a load of wood under her arms.

"What are you waiting for, assistant!? Grab the other pile!" I glance behind me, finding another pile of wood and buckets of paint beside it.

"R-right!" I grab the other pile of wood, watching in amazement as Daria sweeps past me and grabs the buckets of paint. "…"

"Let's get working!" She exclaims, striking a pose with her mallet raised in the air. "Rainbow~!"

"W-what are we building…?"

She whips her head around, a wide smile on her face. "Rainbow bridges! A masterpiece! It is perfection! Rainbow!"

I must have been a good girl. My luck is going great so far. "Right! Let's get to it!"

.

What did I ever do to receive this luck?

After Daria and I built the bridges, I thanked her and found another large purple gem next to a monster portal. I destroyed the portal, forcing a large beetle monster in with a Flower Lion. I moved up the steps, and in front of me appeared the Raccoon.

I thought it would be easy to convince the Raccoon back to the portal because it looked so cute. But then it started hissing, and it jumped at me.

Toffee was knocked off my head, scrambling to hold his place on my back. I could feel his claws dig into my skin, feeling the pricks of his claws pierce my skin and most likely drawing blood. _Dammit_.

"Hold on tight! Try and go onto my shoulder!" I dodge the Raccoon, noticing that it seemed to grow a bit larger in size. "What the…?"

It stopped a distance away from me, hissing and spitting. It raised a leaf up high, placing it on its head and letting a cloud of smoke consume it. Coughing, I shield my nose and mouth with my sleeve, squinting my eyes to try and spot the monster.

Something is wrong.

I step back, my dual blades no longer raised in defense. I see the Raccoon now, although it is no longer small. It is towering and unleashing a mighty roar that shakes me to the core. I can't turn back now, though. I need to beat it. This was my mission.

"You're going back there!" I scream, darting forward and making a mad slash at the beast's belly. It hardly makes a scratch, only managing to enrage it. It swipes at me with large claws, missing me due to the weight of its bulk. I can't afford to be lazy, though, because I know that soon it will make a move and it will hurt me.

Being pessimistic sucks.

"Watch out!" Toffee shouts, nipping at my ear and pulling it. I push myself away, rolling to the ground and away from where the Raccoon attempted to body slam me. Toffee, cradled in my chest, decides to stay to the side so he would not trouble me.

Now is the time. With a flurry of kicks, punches, and stabs, the Raccoon is slowly getting tired. It is desperate to defeat me- making ground shaking body slams and creating illusions of a second figure. In a last ditch attempt to harm me, it aims for Toffee, who has fallen onto the ground.

"Maria!" Toffee shrieks, and I dive forward. The rocks scrape my skin, and I can feel the fur of the Raccoon brushing against my arm as I roll underneath it and away.

"Hold on tight, Toffee!" I exclaim, tightening the muscles in my legs as I prepare to jump. As the Raccoon shifts its body, almost up on its feet, I spot a weakness in its stance. I rush forward, throwing as much powers as I can into shoving that thing back to where it came from. "This is it!"

The Raccoon spits at me one last time before a flash of light engulfs its figure, blinding me and leaving the clearing empty except for the leaf that was on its head. "That was… exciting…" Toffee says at last, huffing. His voice squeaks from the remains of adrenaline, and I can feel the pinpricks from where his claws dug into my skin start to sting.

"I should…" I grab the leaf on the ground, looking to the left where its stash of stolen items were hidden. "So… that's where the villager's stuff is…" I am still huffing, and my body aches and feels sore all over.

"Maria… I think you're bleeding a little too much…" Worry colors Toffee's voice, but that is not my main concern right now. Something was… shining. It was on the opposite side of the clearing's entrance, and it… it was pulling me.

"That's…" I enter another clearing, this time housing the shining orb from earlier. No monsters permeate this idyllic place, leaving the shining orb as its sole occupant. "..this is…" The words can't come out of my mouth, and my eyes are glued to the orb.

Stepping forward, I touch the orb, a light flashing and the sound of my name being called by Toffee.

.

"…_you became a guard…" My brother is staring at me with a deadpan look to his face. I avert my eyes, scuffing my foot against the ground._

"_Dad said I could…" I grin sheepishly. He knows how much of a Daddy's girl I am, and I know how much of a Mama's boy he is. "Plus, it gives me the necessary training. I mean, I am a…"_

"_I know, I know. Remember? We share the same parents?" He rolls his eyes, sticking his tongue out at me. "You know that being a guard is dangerous, right?"_

"_Well, duh," I reply, rolling my eyes at him in turn. "I mean, I only use pointy objects and get into semi-life threatening situations. And I only guard the village from hostile intentions. What else do I expect?"_

"_I could just cut out that tongue of yours…" My brother is gritting his teeth, giving me a forced smile. I could see the corner of his eye twitching._

"_I promise I'll be careful," I say, trying to soothe him. "And if I ever get hurt, you'll be my doctor."_

"_Heh." He has this cocky smirk on his face, looking at me down his nose. "Of course. The great me, though, does not treat wormy plebeians like yourself."_

"_Y-You!" I growl, throwing myself forward and at my brother, knocking us both to the floor in a tangle of limbs. "Macarius you asshole!"_

"_M-Maria! I was just joking! STOP! NOT THE HAIR!"_

.

"…ia! Maria!"

I wake up to the feeling of Toffee scratching at my arms, no doubt leaving marks. I sighed, feeling the back of my head for a bump. It is dark out, and I do not feel like getting up at all.

"Maria!"

"I'm awake…" I grumble. My face and body feel stiff from crying and laying on the ground for- I look up to the sky again-… a while. "How long was I out…?"

"A really long time! I had to obtain sustenance without you!" Toffee is trying to turn the subject around, to distract me from something, but I don't know what. This is the behavior that would make any guard suspicious. "The Raccoon's lair was full of sustenance!"

"O…Okay then… Let's go eat." Something felt wrong about my body. It was too stiff, and my arms and legs felt… cold. It was hard to believe since the light was still high, and the air felt a little too dry.

"We should stay here the night. It's probably not a good idea to go into the village looking all hurt."

My body feels closer to the ground than normal. I yawn, feeling my mouth snap close so hard it made my jaw ache. "Toffee? Why do I feel so weird? Don't you want to ride on my shoulder? You look tired…"

"You're more tired than me, Maria! Look! That's the Raccoon's lair!" He trips over a rock, tipping forward. I reach forward to grab him, but he steadies himself from nearly falling into the water surrounding the orb's pedestal. He sighs, and then his eyes widen and he is opening his mouth. "No! Don't look!"

I turn to the water, wondering what he sees, and then I scream.

.

.

**AN**: _Ehehe~… I love cliff-hangers, don't you? So I've got some other chapters written up. I dun have a beta, so please bear with any grammatical errors, though I try hard to keep it to a minimum. Oh. Yeah. I like Zaid, and I like Gaius, and why do these damn Rune Factory boys have to be so damn hot!?... I like Barrett the most, though~. So, the reason for this Author's Note… None? If you actually read my ramblings, then a virtual cookie for you! insertvirtualcookiehere So, as for the real reason- I was a thinking- This Maria is not the Maria I am… she's not lazy… she's not the comedic relief… and she seems like a reliable person. I need to flesh her out a bit more._


End file.
